Lock&Load
by loveling
Summary: It's Valentine's and Sakuno's determined to deliver her chocolates to Ryoma. [oneshot RyoSaku]


**Lock&Load**

[_fill 'er up with big shiny bullets_!!!] & miss **ginny **faaah starts loading.

_xxxxxx_

Tomorrow was Valentine's day.

Sakuno looked towards the tennis courts. Ryoma was playing a practice game against Momo, the two rallying the tennis ball back and forth in an extraordinary fashion that normal people would never have been able to keep up with. Finally, using a dunk smash, Momo scored a point and made a triumphant gesture. 

"Lucky!" Momo exclaimed, pointing a finger at Ryoma, one eye closed in a wink. "_Don_!"

Ryoma cocked his head and said "mada mada dane" before he went back to his area to serve. He bounced the ball a few times on the floor, tossed it up and then hit it with his racket while he jumped into the air, one hand going forward with the swift motion.

It never failed to awe Sakuno whenever she saw his twist serve. She had made it a personal goal to learn how to play the sport when she saw Ryoma first play against those guys at the train. Though she felt a little silly about thinking that way, Sakuno always thought Ryoma's form was absolutely beautiful, elegant even. There was just something about the way he played that attracted Sakuno to him. Ryoma had undeniable charisma and from the moment she had first met Ryoma, there was just something about him that caught her eye and made her want to be around him. There was this bizarre desire in Sakuno for Ryoma to notice her, even just a little. If she could ask anything of him, she was sure that would be it.

A loud voice snapped Sakuno out of her small daze filled with thoughts concerning the genius tennis player.

"Sakuno, we should get going now," Tomo hollered from behind her. Tomo's eyes pulled towards the tennis courts, a grin running onto her face in an instant at the sight of her Ryoma-sama. "Ryoma-sama!! Kakkoii!" Tomo squealed, hearts in her eyes and her hands placed on her cheeks, her self transformed into fan-girl mode. After a second, Tomo shook her head and took a firm hold of Sakuno's hand. "Let's go, Sakuno. We have to go buy our chocolates for tomorrow!"

  
Sakuno nodded her head in agreement as she was quickly dragged off the school grounds by Tomo, her two braids swishing in the air behind her. "Un!"

The two girls rushed towards the chocolate confectionary nearby the school, on the corner of the street. The small shop was especially crowded, girls pushing and shoving each other to get the best chocolates before they ran out.

A huge, impatient scowl lighted up onto Tomo's face. "It's all full," she said as she stomped her foot on the ground in annoyance. Tomo had been planning for Valentine's day, but was too busy to pick up chocolates earlier. She wanted to get Ryoma-sama the big heart chocolate with white edges. Though Tomo was unable to visit the confectionary, she was able to access the website, which Tomo did about every other hour each day, waiting for the day she could finally go purchase the damn sweet.

"Ahhhrgh!" she growled, pulling at her hair. There was no way she'd get her chocolate at this rate! Tomo rolled up the sleeve of her jacket, determination set in her face. She was going to get her chocolate, Kami-sama damn her! "Sakuno," Tomo started in an resolute tone. "I'm going to make a start for it, are you going to go too?"

Sakuno glanced at the huge lot of girls pushing and shoving in the small store. She shook her head quickly, there was no way she was going to in that store. Girls were scary, especially when they were obsessed with guys and wanted to buy them Valentine's chocolates. "You go on ahead," Sakuno said. "Actually, I was thinking of making Ryoma-kun's chocolates anyway."  
  
Tomo nodded at her friend briskly. "Alright then. I'm going to go for it now! _Yosh_!" Tomo waved goodbye and ran into the mob, aiming a good kick at the crowd of girls, then rushing to the depths, becoming invisible to Sakuno's eyes. "Move it!" Tomo yelled as she barged through.

Sakuno shivered. She didn't know how her friend did stuff like that, Sakuno was never able to be that... Sakuno paused, looking for the word stuck in her head to describe Tomo. She knew what the word was, but it wasn't popping up in her head at the moment. Sakuno frowned. After a few minutes, she still could not remember the word, so she shrugged it off and headed home to start her chocolates for Ryoma. A smile lifted to her face at the thought, she hoped she'd make delicious chocolates that would make Ryoma acknowledge her with a thanks, and perhaps a slight smile. That's all she wanted. He didn't even have to _eat_ her chocolates. A slight, _semi-smile_ would be more than enough.

_xxxxxx_

"_Itai_!" Sakuno snapped her hand back in pain, fingers instinctively going to her mouth. Her eyes became watery at the throbbing pain in her fingers. She chastised herself for being so bumbly and forgetful. Sakuno had forgot that the pot with the chocolate in it would get hot, so she touched the handle without a glove, managing to burn herself just lovely. Sakuno sniffed, feeling a bit miserable and wanting to wallow in her misery for a while.

She sat down on one of the seats of the kitchen table, ready to take a half-hour break when a tennis ball rolled out of her bag.

Ryoma stared at her.

Well, at least a cartoonish picture, that sort of resembled the boy, did.

Determination flared within her and Sakuno stood up. "_Yosh_!" she cried tenaciously, slamming a hand down on the table. "_Itte_!" The determination wilted in an instant, Sakuno crying out in pain again, shaking her hand and then cradling it close to her. She had a knack at hurting herself on accident.

The chocolates entered her mind again and her determination flared right back. Sakuno walked to the pot on the stove and continued to make her chocolates, ignoring the fact that the heat from the stove was making her faint-hearted. The chocolate begin to boil over, hot steam billowing into her face. Her face flushed. Sweat dampened her skin, making her bangs feel stringy against her forehead and her body sticky in her clothes. Sakuno had half a mind to give up again when she thought of Ryoma.

She shook her head in resolve.

_She was going to make those damn chocolates!_

_xxxxxx_

Sakuno rushed to the market when she realized she needed a handkerchief to wrap Ryoma's chocolates in. When she looked through her own stash of handkerchiefs, she decided none of the would be suitable. Her pink and floral prints did not suit Ryoma at all. After some thought, Sakuno thought that a nice red or blue color, either solid or with a very simple design, would suit Ryoma best.

Sakuno browsed a rack holding handkerchiefs, a dark, red handkerchief catching her attention. She took the handkerchief off the rack and rubbed the cloth in between her fingers. It was not the smoothest or softest cloth, but it was definitely not course or made from a cheap material. The color was a nice maroon with faint, pinstripe lines that run across diagonally with much space between the lines; it was a very simple design. Sakuno glanced at the price and a smile lit up on her face when she saw that it was within her budget.

This handkerchief would be perfect.

Sakuno went to the cash register to purchase the handkerchief. She looked around her curiously, glancing at the boy next to her twice to be sure it was Kikumaru Eiji. Sakuno wondered if she should greet the senior, but decided against it when she couldn't quite decide whether she was familiar enough with him to be so friendly. She was not even exactly sure if Eiji knew who she was. Sure, they had met and talked several times, but those times were very rare and Eiji seemed a bit flighty. Sakuno turned away, expecting the day to go on when the hyperactive boy greeted her excitedly.

"Oi! Ryuzaki!" He grinned at her and waved with the hand that was not holding a tube of citrus flavored toothpaste.

"Hello Eiji-senpai," Sakuno greeted back in her soft-spoken voice.

Eiji eyed the handkerchief in her hand, an eyebrow raising. "Making chocolates for someone?" Eiji asked casually, though there was a deeper purpose to his question that lay beyond Sakuno's knowledge.

Sakuno nodded her head, a pleasant smile forming. "I already finished making them," she corrected. Sakuno held up her fingers to show, an abashed countenance on her face. "I burnt my hands a little," Sakuno admitted at the redness of her fingers. "But they taste good, I think," she added quickly in assurance.

Eiji grinned knowingly. "Who're they for?" He questioned innocently. "O-chibi?" Eiji guessed deliberately.

A familiar blush appeared onto Sakuno's cheeks. "R-Ryoma-kun?" she stammered in response at the meaningful guess. Sakuno looked down at her fingers. "Yes," she finally said quietly, the blush only growing bigger at her affirmation. She felt silly and embarrassed, but was not compelled to lie to Eiji.

Eiji patted her on the back encouragingly. "He'll love them, I'm sure!" Eiji assured. He smiled slyly and added inaudibly, "And if he doesn't, Momo-chan and I'll fix that."

"Excuse me?" Sakuno asked, she heard the first part but hadn't caught the latter of Eiji's words.

"Nothing," Eiji shook his head angelically. He patted her again before taking his leave. "Ganbette!" Eiji bid and he was gone, running out of the market.

Sakuno blinked, wondering what Eiji had said after his first words. Her wonder was forgotten, however, when it was her turn to purchase her item. All thought of Eiji left her mind and Sakuno's thoughts focused back on Ryoma and her chocolates.

_xxxxxx_

__

In the morning, Sakuno wrapped the chocolates in the handkerchief, tying it up with a small piece of silver ribbon and carried it on her way to Seigaku. She rushed into the school, ready to find Ryoma and deliver, but stopped in her place when she caught Ryoma surrounded by a crowd of girls offering chocolates to him.

Sakuno's heart dropped.

There was no way she'd be able to give her chocolates to him, not with so many girls surrounding him. Sakuno would never be able to get through the crowd, and even if she did, she was sure that she'd just blend in with all the rest of the girls and Ryoma wouldn't be able to tell a difference from her chocolates and all the rest.

Sakuno disappointedly headed to her classroom in a quick run, wanting to get away from the sight as quickly as possible. She drooped in her desk and moped, feeling rather sorry for herself and feeling a bit miserable. Sakuno glanced at her reddened fingers and frowned.

_All that work for nothing_.

"Sakuno, did you give your chocolates yet?" Tomo asked when she spotted her friend moping in her desk.

Sakuno looked up, a stiff smile wiped onto her face.

"Aa... I forgot, actually," Sakuno lied. Her voice was a bit off from usual, and her smile was very stiff and uneasy. Still, Tomo did not notice the discrepancies and instead, proceeded to give a short lecture on her disappointment with Sakuno for forgetting to give the precious Ryoma-sama chocolates.

"I just don't understand it! How could you forget?" Tomo asked, genuinely confused. Tomo had always been sure that Sakuno liked Ryoma just as much as her, if not more.

Sakuno smiled uneasily again. "Ha ha..." she laughed weakly, not answering Tomo's questions. Sakuno didn't really feel like talking at the moment.

Tomo shrugged, then went on to telling Sakuno of her journey of giving chocolates to Ryoma, how she had to push and shove the girls out of the way to give the huge heart (which she had managed to purchase despite the mass of girls at the confectionary) to him and declare her undying dedication and love.

Sakuno nodded her head at regular intervals to show Tomo that she was paying attention, but Sakuno's thoughts stll wandered to her _own_ disappointment at being unable to give_ her_ chocolates to Ryoma.

_xxxxxx_

Ryoma had just been walking to school, it was a day like any other. About a few feet outside the school gate, the first ambush began.

"Ryoma-kun!" and "Echizen-san!" and other forms of his name was shrieked as girls bombarded him with chocolates in high, grating voices. Ryoma was something that he normally never was: he was down right _terrified_. He had absolutely no idea what was going on, and eventually, he just tossed the billions of chocolates out of his hands, into the floor and ran towards the doors of the school.

For a while the massive horde of girls disappeared.

That was, until he entered the actual school. From then on, more hordes of girls came rushing towards him and he found himself struggling to get to his class, going up the stairs and through the hallways that were now much longer than the day before.  
  
At one point, he heard a loud "RYOMA-SAMA!" and he knew it was that Osakada girl. A few cries were then followed by a swift push from Tomo, and she handed him a gigantic heart chocolate with white chocolate edges. She grinned confidently and placed the chocolate into his hands. Tomo started giving a short speech about her great loyalty to Ryoma-sama when she was attacked by some of the girls, and she soon disappeared within the crowd, leaving the chocolate in his hand.

Ryoma took the moment to rush upstairs to his classroom but was bombarded once more. As he struggled to get into his class, he thought he saw two, long braids passing by but the thought quickly slipped out of his mind quickly after it slipped in with the constant hammering of girls.

Finally, Ryoma got into his classroom and he slammed the door shut and ran to his seat. He was no longer terrified like crazy, though he was still more than a bit afraid to go outside. He swore he could see the shadows of the girls against the wall, that which terrified him as much as Kaidou was terrified of ghosts.

"Did you get Valentine's chocolates?" Horio asked jealously when he noted Tomo's chocolate in his hands. He licked his lip unconsciously, his mouth watering at the creamy, silky-looking sweet. It was a very big chocolate and looked very rich, and absolutely delicious.

Ryoma looked up at the egotistical freshman. "Valentine's chocolates?" Ryoma asked in confusion, his brow wrinkled.

Horio nodded. "You know, Valentine's day. You've got a chocolate in your hand!" Horio pointed out the heart. Horio shrugged his shoulders. "Well, it's only one. I've got two, although it's from relatives, it's still chocolate..."

Ryoma blocked Horio's voice out of his head as Horio continued to talk about Valentine's day, how his chocolates were bettor and more than Ryoma's, and somehow he also managed to kick in his two years of experience with tennis.

"Valentine's day?" Ryoma said aloud, regretting saying it aloud to himself. The small phrase executed another long monologue from the abrasive Horio who had two years of experience. (Not one, not three, but two, mind you.)

Ryoma then realized that it really was _chocolate_ in his hands, and he sighed in annoyance when he realized he had at least a good several hundred chocolates thrown at him, which he could have eaten had it not been for the fact that he did not pick up any of the chocolates, and dropped any thrust into his hands since he had no idea what the hell was going on.

_xxxxxx_

When Ryoma somehow entered the tennis courts, unscathed from the crazy, psycho females that ambushed him through out the day, he was ambushed again. This time it was from Momo and Eiji, both with chesire grins on their faces.

"What did Ryuzaki's chocolates taste like?" Eiji asked animatedly, pouncing onto Ryoma. "She burned her fingers, you know!" Eiji cried at the injustice, applauding Sakuno's "deep love for Echizen", tears cascading down his cheeks.

"Did you treat her like a lady this time?" Momo asked, shaking his finger. "If you didn't, I'll never forgive you!"

Ryoma stared at them.

"Ryuzaki?" he asked dumbly.

"You know, our cheerleader!" Eiji jumped up and down excitedly. When he saw the petite girl at the market yesterday and news of her making chocolates for Ryoma was confirmed, he had ran home and dialed up some the Seigaku members to tell them, namely Momo, Oishi and Inui. Soon, all the regulars knew as Inui took it upon himself to inform all the rest. (All but Tezuka, anyway. Tezuka kept hanging up on him for some strange reason.)

"I always knew she had a crush on you!" Momo slapped a hand on Ryoma's back. Hard.

Ryoma let out a breath of air and glowered at the heavy pressure impaired against him.

"Very interesting data," Inui murmured, his glasses flashing in the light. He took down some notes in his notebook and listened intently for any other juicy information he could take down.

"Mmmm..." Fuji put a finger on his chin, his head tilted towards Ryoma in interest and familiar smile in place.

The rest of the Seigaku regulars soon provided their own input, and then quieted to await Ryoma's answer to Eiji's original question on how Sakuno's chocolates tasted.

"She didn't give me any chocolates," Ryoma finally answered in annoyance. He turned away from them and the regulars looked at each other.

"What do you mean, nya?" Eiji asked as he pulled onto Ryoma's arm. "_O-chi-bi_!!!! Don't hide!" Eiji jumped up and down, stamping his feet on the floor irritably.

Momo was about to speak when Tezuka came into the courts, a fierce expression on his face at the sight of the tennis members talking about Valentine's and whatnot, and the small group of regulars buzzing about Sakuno and harrassing Ryoma.

Tezuka spoke.

"Valentine's day does not excuse doing nothing! Thirty laps!" Tezuka ordered harshly.

Ryoma pushed Eiji off of his arm and sped to the front, starting his run faster than usual to avoid the commotion of the regulars.

_What were they talking about anyway? Ryuzaki?  
_  
Ryoma was confused.

She hadn't given him any chocolates, so what were they bugging him about?

_xxxxxx_

__

Sakuno sighed. She looked at the small handkerchief package of chocolates in her hands. The sight of it made her depressed. To think she had spent all that time making the chocolates, as well as injuring herself a bit and Ryoma would not be eating one bite!

It was just _too_ depressing.

Sakuno didn't know if she could stand it any longer.

She walked to the trash can slowly and closed her eyes, holding the small package above the can, preparing to let go to throw the chocolates away. Her hands hovered over the can, holding onto the chocolates.

_One... two... three..._

__

_let go!_

Her fingers did not let go and Sakuno opened her eyes, pulling the chocolates close to her.

What was she doing anyway? Why was she throwing the chocolates that she labored over for so long in the trash can? If Ryoma couldn't eat them, she could eat them herself, couldn't she? Sakuno frowned. No, she couldn't. 

She bit her lip.

Looking at her chocolates still made her miserable feeling.

_Be brave!_ Sakuno told herself. These chocolates couldn't help her anyway, throwing them away would probably help the miserable feeling go away. Yeah, that was right. Throwing them away would somehow make things better. Sakuno held out the chocolates above the can again, her eyes closed tight. Her heart skipped as she let her hands let go of the package and straighten out, dropping the package into the can.

There was no noise.

Sakuno waited.

There was still no noise.

She opened one eye carefully, expecting to see the red handkerchief with the silver ribbon in the trash. Instead, she was met with the face of Ryoma.

He held the package in his hands, taking the silver ribbon off the handkerchief.

"If you're going to throw them away, I'll eat them," Ryoma said nonchalantly, placing a piece of the chocolate into his mouth.

Sakuno's eyes widened.

"R-Ryoma-kun!"

_Ryoma was eating her chocolate!?_

She blushed at the realization.

_Ryoma was eating her chocolate!!_

Her face grew redder. What did he think? What if they tasted horrible? Did he like them? Would he eat more? Questions passed through her mind furiously and Sakuno panicked.

"Thanks," Ryoma expressed his gratitude and took another piece of chocolate to eat. He carefully wrapped the ribbon back around the handkerchief and placed it into his bag. Ryoma turned and started walking away from the stunned girl.

Sakuno melted.

_Ryoma ate her chocolate!_

A smile floated to her face, Sakuno caught in a daze.

Sure, Ryoma didn't really _say_ much, and he didn't exactly act like he was accepting chocolates from a girl. But he still ate them! And he kept them too!  
  
Sakuno grinned sheepishly and just stood in place, a goofy expression lingering over her face. She was extremely happy.

_Ryoma ate her chocolate!_  
  
That was sort of accepting it, right?

Sakuno continued to think about it in her happy-but-confused daze, but was knocked out of it when she heard Ryoma's voice again.

"Are you coming?" He asked, turning his head back at her.

Sakuno blinked at him. _What?_

"I'll walk you home."  
  
Sakuno blinked at him again. _Excuse me?_

He sighed and walked back to Sakuno. "In exchange for the chocolate," Ryoma explained briefly and then walked away from her again.

Realization hit Sakuno and she blushed again.

_Walk her home?_

Sakuno grinned in delight and nodded her head, "Un!" She ran up to him eagerly, following his steps behind him in content.

Everything was turning out better than expected and Sakuno was perfectly happy.

_xxxxxx_

**GINNY SAYS **don't play with fire!!!!

but anyway, Please enjoy this fic. It's not as good as I've had liked, and I think it gets sort of ooc, but oh well! I've been working on this for the last three-four hours and I'm super tired! (Plus I must leave tomorrow on my trip!) so sob!!! :(:(:(

I had the desire of a short valentine's RyoSaku fic in me for quite a while and started this after I wrote the Tennis Ring c1, but I just couldn't seem to go past the first three hundred words for the longest time. Alas, I was determined to complete this before I leave on my trip tomorrow and before I start working on the first chapter of _the Miranda Contingency_. :) I'm going to promote it now! READ IT WHEN IT COMES OUT! :D Ginny will be super happy if ya do. It'll be a RyoSaku taking place in the future.

**Technicalities on Lock&Load**

1) I have lots of sound effects in this one. Like "_itte_" and "_itai_", which are along the lines of "_ow/ouch/ah_", noises of pain. Momo goes "_don_" a lot in the anime, especially right after he makes a dunk smash, so I added that. When they're determined, the characters also go "_yosh_!" before doing the thing they do. Sakuno made the noise when you first see her swinging the racket.

2) If I feel like it, I may add a chapter2. But the chances aren't that high so don't expect it.

****On another note, _can't quite CAPTURE_ and the tomo diary perspective will remain oneshots. I've considered turning them into multi-parters after requests, but honestly, there are just so many other fics I wanna write (that I value more) and there's just too little time and patience, so I am responding with an answer for those who've asked and are curious.

3) I'm not completely sure how to make chocolate. Boiling over? Steam? Heat? I've no idea what the hell I'm talking about.

**Edited August 1, 2004: **quick typo edits. thank you to the Eiji Cat for the gambatte notice. I came back from my trip! Was very fun! :D


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